Debt Tips   

General Tips

Pay attention to where your money is being spent

If need be, start carrying around a PDA or even a tiny memo book around with you everywhere you go when you spend money. This may sound a bit tedious, but it will not be something you have to do forever. You only have to do this in the beginning, until you establish a detailed accounting of where your hard earned money is actually going. Do you eat out too much? Are you spending too much money on a hobby? The only way to understand where your money is going when you are first trying to get your debt under control is to track your spending as detailed as you can. If you only use a check card when you spend, you can track all of your purchases through your bank statement each month. Unfortunately, not all of your purchases will typically be from the use of a check card, but thinking along this line of tracking is a good thing to do in the beginning. If you carry around a PDA or tiny memo pad when spending, the simple act of writing your purchases down will many times keep you from spending too much frivolously. It will also help you look at where your actual money is really going - it allows you to make informed decisions about how much money you really need to live the life you want to live.

Create a simple spending plan

Think of it this way, you don’t travel an unknown road on vacation with out a map (you should not anyway) and you should not spend with out a spending map for  sure. A spending plan is simply a map to help guide you in the correct direction financially. A spending plan will help you set goals and evaluate your progress. There really is no successful company in the world today that does not have a good spending plan. All successful companies use spending plans, you should have one too.

Be certain the entire household is on the same page

When it come to changing your spending habits in order to overcome any debt issues and financial problems you and your entire family and or household need to be on the same page – you must all understand the financial needs of the household to be successful at becoming debt free or at least better at your finances and spending habits. Even if you have a roommate, they have to understand what your goals are in order to stay on track. If you do not communicate these exact needs to everyone under your roof, it will almost be impossible to become debt free or in debt control and improve your spending habits. Be sure that everyone in your home is committed to these changes in order to be successful in this endeavor.

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